REVIEW: RM - RIGHT PLACE, WRONG PERSON

4/5

Right Album, Right Time.

In these digital era times, I don't want to throw shade or subtext, but it's important to heed this warning like the one Brandon Boyd's Incubus muse told him about when she called out, "don't let this life pass you by" on his 'Morning View'. It's simple, but subtle in how much it could move you and change you. Don't waste your beautiful young life and love on something or someone that's not right for you. Give it a chance, sure. But three strikes is a good way to measure it before you say "I'm out". Or you may never make it home.

That's what the biggest hitter like Ohtani of BTS, RM is talking about, telling you on his new album 'Right Place, Wrong Person'. Sometimes you might be primed to be in the best spot of your life, but then you allow space to someone who is living rent-free in your head...and not doing their fair share of the housework. 

Ever since the break of BTS, the squad have all released significant solo sets, mandatory military service in South Korea pending, by the boatload. The last inspired album from the Rap Monster, 'Indigo', only just came out in the December of 2022, right before 2023, that feels like yesterday, not yesteryear. That LP featured the industry likes of Erykah Badu and Anderson .Paak as J-Hope made records with J.Cole and Suga showed off his Agust-D alter-ego. Now, Kim-nam Joon mostly goes it alone. Although he has been in the studio with Pharrell, and it shows on records like 'Nuts', 'Groin' and 'Domodachi (featuring Little Simz)', that sound alike in the sense that just like the Neptune, this musical nerd's style can't be contained as it pushes every envelope like mail days after a national holiday.

'LOST!' in a maze of a stunning single and many records that matches the Musiq typography tapestry of the greats like Maxwell and D'Angelo (see the R&B grammar of 'out of love'), this young prince gives us his best work yet. And we heard the mesmerizing '.mono' mixtape from 'Seoul' to 'Tokyo' and all the epic, emotional 'Forever Rain' in-between. This is just that much deeper and diverse, as the rich K-Pop artist gives us Korean neo-soul, all whilst allowing the old rapping monster of his to be unleashed over bars that carry that weight like going 'Nuts' over, "She a pro rider, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, rider/Must be an A1 guider, always throw a f######' slider/When it comes to love, she could be an all-nighter/Best gaslighter, no man could ever fight her/I go mad 어찌 모든 걸 함께 해/어째 이제 네가 줄 수 있는 게 없는데."

Yet this album from its inspired 'Right People, Wrong Place' reflection intro to the 'Credit Role' is a classic love story that will break your heart. Just check out the amazing artwork photo-op of a wedding by the beach where all is not paradise with the industrial city in the background. RM is playing the sides. Hidden behind his new buzz-cut. He's smiling. But is it forced? Find out when you listen to tracks like the yearning single 'Come back to me' with shades of Tyrese Gibson's 'Alter-Ego', 'Come Back To Me Shawty'. Or 'Heaven' on the same New Music Friday when the funkin' guitar God of 'Heaven Help's' very own Lenny Kravitz releases his own track of the same name for his 'Blue Electric Light'.

But are you going to go this way in a big summer suit the rolled up sleeves of Miami Vice would be proud of, by way of Seoul to Busan? Because it fits perfectly for RM, no question, like an influential interlude. BTS' best boy has crafted a classic creation. It's album artwork, down to the 808s and the video treatments. Giving a gorgeous gallery to him and his amazing army. When you hear the new power generation of the revolutionary 'Around the world in a day' ("let's run the night/If it's in their design") with its Moses Sumney harmonies parting, you just know that this prince of the Republic of Korea has it. Even in their hiatus, it's not the wrong time to be a BTS fan when this person has found their perfect place. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'LOST!', 'out of love', 'Heaven'.